08.03. (Thu) 21:05 Manchester Utd. - Athletic Bilbao

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

MANCHESTER UNITED De GeaFabio, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra  Nani, Carrick, Giggs, ParkHernandez, Rooney

ATHLETIC BILBAO IraizozIraola, San Jose, Ekiza, Aurtenetxe Martinez, Herrera Susaeta, De Marcos, Muniain Llorente

Manchester United are set to welcome Chris Smalling back after recovering from a head injury sustained during England's 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands last week and the former Fulham man may slot straight into the back line.

Anderson is also fighting for a starting place after two months out with a knee injury but the game comes too soon for Antonio Valencia and Tom Cleverley. However the Ecuadorian winger may be in contention for the second leg.

Athletic Club boss Marcelo Bielsa will be without long-term absentees Aitor Ocio, Carlos Gurpegi and Xabi Castillo for the first-leg clash at Old Trafford.

Midfielder Ander Iturraspe missed the Bilbao club's Basque derby with Real Sociedad at the weekend but is expected to return to the squad in time for Thursday's clash, possibly on the bench.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Manchester United have won just one of their four European games at Old Trafford this season, a 2-0 victory over Otelul Galati in their Champions League group thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney and Antonio Valencia.

• Rooney is the Red Devils' top scorer in Europe this season with three goals in continental competition.

• Athletic Bilbao are one of football's most taditional clubs, only selecting players of Basque heritage.

• The Lions currently sit fifth in La Liga, 20 points behind second-placed Barcelona but surprisingly just 10 away from Villarreal who are 17th.

• Fernando Llorente (pictured right) is the club's top scorer so far this seaosn with 19 goals but just two of them have come in the Europa League.

• The Basque outfit have played seven games in England, drawing one and losing the rest.

• The last meeting between the two clubs was all the way back in February 1957 as United triumphed 3-0 in a game held at Maine Road due to Old Trafford suffering from bomb damage.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 
 

Man Utd. 3-1 Athletic Bilbao  

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08.03. (Thu) 21:05 AZ Alkmaar - Udinese

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

AZ Alvarado Marcellis, Moisander, Viergever, Poulsen Elm, Martens, Maher  Beerens, Altidore, Holman

UDINESE Handanovic Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi Basta, Fernandes, Asamoah Paz'a, Armero  Floro Flores Di Natale

Gertjan Verbeek will have a full squad at his disposal for the visit of the Bianconeri, with the coach expected to name an unchanged lineup from the side that defeated Heracles Almelo 3-1 on Saturday.

The visitors will go into Thursday's clash without the services of Mauricio Isla, with the influential midfielder set to miss the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury, while Almen Abdi and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu will also miss out due to physical problems.

Diego Fabbrini will also not be involved, having incurred a suspension in the last round versus PAOK.

DID YOU KNOW?

• AZ are unbeaten in their last nine games in Europe.

• The hosts have only conceded one goal in their last four Europa League games.

• Thursday's clash will be the first time the two sides have met in this competition.

• Udinese have only won one of their last five clashes in the Europa League.

• The 3-0 victory over PAOK last time around was Udinese's best-ever away victory in the Europa League.

• The Bianconeri have only netted nine times in their eight Europa League games so far this term.

Prediction

With the visitors winning only one of their last five Europa League ties, along with the hosts' unbeaten record in Europe this season, a home victory seems a probable outcome.

Editor's Prediction

AZ 1-0 Udinese

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08.03. (Thu) 21:05 Valencia - PSV Eindhoven

Roberto Soldado - Valencia

PROBABLE LINEUPS

VALENCIA Guaita Bruno, Rami, Ruiz, Mathieu Topal, T. CostaFeghouli, Jonas, Jordi Alba Soldado

PSV Isaksson Manolev, Marcelo, Bouma, Pieters Wijnaldum, Strootman Labyad, Toivonen, Mertens  Matavz

Unai Emery's team are still without Ever Banega, Sergio Canales and Hedwiges Maduro, who are all recovering from long-term injuries.

Right-back Miguel will also miss the match after picking up an knock against Barcelona last month, with Bruno taking his place.

For the Dutch side, defender Erik Pieters, who missed around four months with a fractured foot, will likely return to the starting XI at the expense of Jetro Willems. The Dutch international returned to action as a substitute at the weekend and appears to have reached full fitness.

No other serious injuries look to impact PSV ahead of Thursday's game.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Valencia are in the round of 16 after being eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, before defeating Stoke City in the round of 32.

• The hosts are coming off a victory over the weekend against Granada, where Sofiane Feghouli scored the winner in the first half.

• The two teams met at the turn of the millennium in the Champions League group stage, with a 1-1 draw and a 2-0 win to Valencia the results. Current PSV defender Wilfred Bouma and Los Che veteran David Albelda were both on their respective team at that time.

• PSV lost 6-2 to Eredivisie title rivals Twente at the weekend. 

• The Dutch lost to Valencia in a friendly in July 2011, where goals from Pablo Piatti and Aritz Aduriz earned Unai Emery's side a 2-0 victory.

• Both sides have a Uefa Cup title to their names, with PSV having won the competition in 1978, while Valencia triumphed in 2004.

Prediction

The Dutch defence will find it tough to contain the quick Valencia wingers and the guile of Roberto Soldado, as Unai Emery's men aim to finish Thursday with one foot in the quarter-finals.

Editor's Prediction

Valencia 2-0 PSV

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08.03. (Thu) 19:00 Twente - Schalke 04

PROSHOTS

PROBABLE LINEUPS

TWENTE Mihaylov Cornelisse, Douglas, Wisgerhof, Rosales Fer, Janssen, Brama Chadli, De Jong, John

SCHALKE Hildebrand Uchida, Matip, Papadopoulos, Fuchs Hoger, Jones Obasi, Raul, Draxler Marica

Steve McClaren is set to name an unchanged team from the side that crushed Eredivisie title rivals PSV 6-2 over the weekend, with the only possible change being Dwight Tiendalli coming in for Tim Cornelisse, though doubts remain over the 25-year-old's fitness.

Douglas' domestic suspension does not apply to European competition, but Denny Landzaat and Andrej Rendla are out with calf and knee problems respectively. Wesley Verhoek is back in training after his foot injury, but lacks the match fitness to start the encounter.

The bad news for Schalke is that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has not recovered sufficiently from the concussion he sustained on international duty against England. Benedikt Howedes picked up a thigh injury in the course of the weekend's clash with Freiburg, and will be missing from the defence, along with Christoph Metzelder, who has a hamstring problem.

Jefferson Farfan is suspended for this match for accumulation of yellow cards, while Teemu Pukki in cup-tied. Lewis Holtby has been training with the club's youth ranks, but it is unclear whether the 21-year-old will be fit to start the match.

DID YOU KNOW?

• These two sides have met on just one occasion in the past, with Twente defeating their German counterparts 2-1 in the 2008-09 Uefa Cup group stage.

• The Grolsch Veste club defeated Zenit St. Petersburg in the round of 16 of Europa League last season, before losing to Villarreal in the quarter-finals.

• Since being eliminated by the Madrigal outfit last season, the Dutch side are unbeaten at home in the competition for a total of six matches.

• Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (right) is the Europa League's top remaining goalscorer with six goals. Matias Suarez of Anderlecht has seven strikes to his name, but the Belgians were eliminated in the round of 32.

• The Veltins Arena club have played four times on Dutch soil, and have failed to win on each occasion.

• Huub Stevens' men are unbeaten in their last nine Europa League games, after a shock 2-0 reverse at the hands of HJK Helsinki in the qualifying rounds.

Prediction

Twente will be on top of the world, having defeated PSV by such a crushing score-line. Schalke, on the other hand, are coming off the back of two crushing defeats which have all but killed off their Bundesliga aspirations. Accordingly, I'd expect Steve McClaren's men to record a victory against the Germans, but not by a margin so convincing.

Editor's Prediction

FC Twente 2-1 Schalke

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08.03. (Thu) 19:00 Sporting Lisboa - Manchester City

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

SPORTING LISBON PatricioArias, Polga, Xandao, Insua  Carrico, Schaars, FernandezIzmailov, Ribas, Capel

MANCHESTER CITY HartKolo Toure, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy Milner, De Jong, Barry Silva, Dzeko, Aguero

Top scorer Ricky van Wolfswinkel is likely to miss out through injury making space up front for Uruguayan Sebastian Ribas. Elias is ineligible for the Europa League while Matias Fernandez is a potential alternative, with Andre Carillo another option in attack.

Colombian Santiago Arias was preferred to Portugal international Joao Pereira at right back in their last game and may feature again. Xandao could appear at centre back with Oguchi Onyewu and Alberto Rodriguez absent due to knee injuries. Midfielder Fito Rinaudo will also miss out after recurrence of an ankle injury.

Sergio Aguero and David Silva were rested for City’s match against Bolton at the weekend, while James Milner and Edin Dzeko only played for part of the second half, indicating that all are likely to feature on Thursday.

Kolo Toure is likely to start at right back due to injuries to Micah Richards and Pablo Zabaleta with Nigel de Jong expected to come into midfield in place of the suspended Yaya Toure.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Sporting have been inconsistent this season, and they lie 4th in the Portuguese Liga, 14 points behind leaders Porto and 11 behind joint second place Benfica and Braga. This led to the dismissal of  Domingos Paciencia from his position as coach in February.

• They suffered their first defeat under their new manager, former Portugal forward Ricardo Sa Pinto, on Saturday 1-0 away at Vitoria Setubal on Saturday, after having won the previous three games.

• The Lions do however have a strong home record at their Jose Alvalade Stadium and have won every home tie against European opposition this season, winning their Group D ahead of Lazio.

• The club won the Cup Winners Cup in 1964 and were runners-up in the 2005 UEFA Cup, losing the final 3-1 to CSKA Moscow in their own stadium after going a goal ahead.

• The two sides have never met in a competitive game, but Sporting beat Manchester City 2-0 in a friendly match in July 2010.

• Manchester City are two points clear of Manchester United at the top of the Premier League table, have won their last 6 games conceding just one goal in the process.

• The Blues have scored both the most goals in the Premier League with 69 and conceded the fewest with 19, and have lost only two games at the Etihad Stadium this season.

• Roberto Mancini’s side progressed through to the Europa League’s 2nd knock out round with an emphatic 6-1 aggregate victory over current Portuguese league leaders FC Porto.

• City entered the the competition after finishing 3rd in the Champions League Group Stages behind Bayern Munich and Napoli.

• The club previously won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 
 

Sporting Lisbon 1-1 Manchester City FC 

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08.03. (Thu) 19:00 Atletico Madrid - Besiktas

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

ATLETICO MADRID Courtois Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Suarez, TiagoAdrian, Gabi, Koke Falcao

BESIKTAS Gonen Toraman, Sivok, Sidnei, Gulum Kavlak, Ernst, UysalQuaresma, Simao Almeida

Atletico Madrid trio Antonio Lopez, Diego and Arda Turan will almost certainly sit out Thursday's Europa League last-16 first-leg clash with Besiktas due to injury.

Brazilian midfielder Paulo Assuncao is suspended, while Radamel Falcao and Diego Godin are available for selection having missed Saturday's draw at Sevilla through suspension.

Besiktas, who lost 2-1 to city rivals Trabzonspor at the weekend, will be without injured duo Egemen Korkmaz and Roberto Hilbert for the trip to the Spanish capital.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Atletico Madrid have never lost to Turkish opposition at the Vicente Calderon (W2 D3). Their overall record against Turkish sides is W6 D3 L1.

• Los Colchoneros have won their last six European home games, since losing 3-2 to Aris Thessaloniki in last season's Europa League group stage.

• The 2010 Europa League winners have suffered just one defeat since Diego Simeone was appointed coach in December - a 2-1 loss to Barcelona on 26 February.

• Besiktas have never won on Spanish soil in seven attempts (D1 L6).

• The Black Eagles have won just two of their last nine matches in all competitions.

• Simao (pictured right) scored 20 goals in 113 Liga games for Atletico between 2007 and 2010.

Prediction

The absence of Diego and Turan is a blow for home side, who are without a win in La Liga since January. However, the visitors are going through a wretched run of results themselves, and Atletico will fancy their chances of taking a lead to Istanbul for the second leg.

Editor's Prediction

Atl. Madrid 1-0 Beşiktaş

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